HitchDaysShort answer
On a USPS rotating day off schedule, a city letter carrier has Sunday off every week plus a second day off that moves one day later each week: Saturday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, then Saturday again. Carriers are split into six groups, shown as letters or colors, so each weekday from Monday to Saturday has one group off and the pattern repeats every six weeks. Because the postal service week runs Saturday to Friday, the Friday off is followed the next day by a Saturday off, which gives each group a Friday-Saturday-Sunday weekend once every six weeks.
The Postal Service does not publish one national rotating day off calendar. Each office sets its rotation in a local agreement, and branches print their own color calendars. The chart below is the six-week cycle laid out for every 2026 service week, with the letters used on one NALC branch's printed 2026 calendar. Your station may use other letters or colors, or run the groups in a different order, so find your row by a day off you already know (step 1 below). HitchDays is not made by or connected to the Postal Service or the NALC.
Find your rotating day off in 2026
Pick one rotating day off you are sure of, for example last week's. Not Sunday, since every group has Sunday.
Find that service week in the chart below and read the letter under the day you had off. That letter is your group for the rest of 2026, whatever your station calls it.
Follow your letter down the chart. Each row is one service week, Saturday to Friday. Your letter moves one column to the right each week, and after Friday it wraps back to Saturday in the very next row.
Example: your rotating day off was Monday, November 2, 2026. The chart shows D under Monday that week. Group D has Tuesday, November 10 off the next week, then Wednesday, November 18, Thursday, November 26 (Thanksgiving, see the holiday question below), and Friday, December 4. The next day, Saturday, December 5, starts the cycle again, so December 4, 5, and 6 is group D's long weekend.
Each group's 2026 at a glance
The Saturday off is the one people plan around: with the Friday before it and Sunday after it, it makes the three-day weekend. Here is every group's first rotating day off of 2026 and every Saturday off that year.
| Group | First rotating day off in 2026 | Saturdays off in 2026 (each one is a Friday-Saturday-Sunday weekend) |
|---|---|---|
| A | Wed Jan 7 | Jan 24, Mar 7, Apr 18, May 30, Jul 11, Aug 22, Oct 3, Nov 14, Dec 26 |
| B | Thu Jan 8 | Jan 17, Feb 28, Apr 11, May 23, Jul 4, Aug 15, Sep 26, Nov 7, Dec 19 |
| C | Thu Jan 1 | Jan 10, Feb 21, Apr 4, May 16, Jun 27, Aug 8, Sep 19, Oct 31, Dec 12 |
| D | Fri Jan 2 | Jan 3, Feb 14, Mar 28, May 9, Jun 20, Aug 1, Sep 12, Oct 24, Dec 5 |
| E | Mon Jan 5 | Feb 7, Mar 21, May 2, Jun 13, Jul 25, Sep 5, Oct 17, Nov 28 |
| F | Tue Jan 6 | Jan 31, Mar 14, Apr 25, Jun 6, Jul 18, Aug 29, Oct 10, Nov 21 |
Groups E and F get eight Saturdays in 2026 and the others get nine, because 2026 has 52 Saturdays and 52 does not divide evenly by six.
The full 2026 rotating day off chart
Each row is one postal service week. The letter under each day is the group that has that day off. Sunday is not shown because every group has it off. Holidays are not marked: the letters keep going through them, as they do on printed branch calendars (see the holiday question below). The chart starts with the service week that holds January 1, 2026 and ends with the one that holds January 1, 2027.
Swipe the table sideways to see every day.
| Service week (Sat to Fri) | Sat | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 27, 2025 to Jan 2 | E | F | A | B | C | D |
| Jan 3 to Jan 9 | D | E | F | A | B | C |
| Jan 10 to Jan 16 | C | D | E | F | A | B |
| Jan 17 to Jan 23 | B | C | D | E | F | A |
| Jan 24 to Jan 30 | A | B | C | D | E | F |
| Jan 31 to Feb 6 | F | A | B | C | D | E |
| Feb 7 to Feb 13 | E | F | A | B | C | D |
| Feb 14 to Feb 20 | D | E | F | A | B | C |
| Feb 21 to Feb 27 | C | D | E | F | A | B |
| Feb 28 to Mar 6 | B | C | D | E | F | A |
| Mar 7 to Mar 13 | A | B | C | D | E | F |
| Mar 14 to Mar 20 | F | A | B | C | D | E |
| Mar 21 to Mar 27 | E | F | A | B | C | D |
| Mar 28 to Apr 3 | D | E | F | A | B | C |
| Apr 4 to Apr 10 | C | D | E | F | A | B |
| Apr 11 to Apr 17 | B | C | D | E | F | A |
| Apr 18 to Apr 24 | A | B | C | D | E | F |
| Apr 25 to May 1 | F | A | B | C | D | E |
| May 2 to May 8 | E | F | A | B | C | D |
| May 9 to May 15 | D | E | F | A | B | C |
| May 16 to May 22 | C | D | E | F | A | B |
| May 23 to May 29 | B | C | D | E | F | A |
| May 30 to Jun 5 | A | B | C | D | E | F |
| Jun 6 to Jun 12 | F | A | B | C | D | E |
| Jun 13 to Jun 19 | E | F | A | B | C | D |
| Jun 20 to Jun 26 | D | E | F | A | B | C |
| Jun 27 to Jul 3 | C | D | E | F | A | B |
| Jul 4 to Jul 10 | B | C | D | E | F | A |
| Jul 11 to Jul 17 | A | B | C | D | E | F |
| Jul 18 to Jul 24 | F | A | B | C | D | E |
| Jul 25 to Jul 31 | E | F | A | B | C | D |
| Aug 1 to Aug 7 | D | E | F | A | B | C |
| Aug 8 to Aug 14 | C | D | E | F | A | B |
| Aug 15 to Aug 21 | B | C | D | E | F | A |
| Aug 22 to Aug 28 | A | B | C | D | E | F |
| Aug 29 to Sep 4 | F | A | B | C | D | E |
| Sep 5 to Sep 11 | E | F | A | B | C | D |
| Sep 12 to Sep 18 | D | E | F | A | B | C |
| Sep 19 to Sep 25 | C | D | E | F | A | B |
| Sep 26 to Oct 2 | B | C | D | E | F | A |
| Oct 3 to Oct 9 | A | B | C | D | E | F |
| Oct 10 to Oct 16 | F | A | B | C | D | E |
| Oct 17 to Oct 23 | E | F | A | B | C | D |
| Oct 24 to Oct 30 | D | E | F | A | B | C |
| Oct 31 to Nov 6 | C | D | E | F | A | B |
| Nov 7 to Nov 13 | B | C | D | E | F | A |
| Nov 14 to Nov 20 | A | B | C | D | E | F |
| Nov 21 to Nov 27 | F | A | B | C | D | E |
| Nov 28 to Dec 4 | E | F | A | B | C | D |
| Dec 5 to Dec 11 | D | E | F | A | B | C |
| Dec 12 to Dec 18 | C | D | E | F | A | B |
| Dec 19 to Dec 25 | B | C | D | E | F | A |
| Dec 26 to Jan 1, 2027 | A | B | C | D | E | F |
How the chart was made and checked: the postal service week begins at 12:01 a.m. Saturday and ends at midnight Friday (Employee and Labor Relations Manual, section 432), and local rotating day off agreements commonly say that when Friday is a carrier's non-scheduled day one week, Saturday is the non-scheduled day the following week. Those two rules fix the whole year. Every day in this chart was then compared with a 2026 designated days off calendar printed by an NALC branch (PDF), and they match.
How the six-week cycle works
Inside one service week, the rotating day steps through Saturday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, skipping Sunday because Sunday is already off. Six steps, six weeks, six groups. Follow group D at the start of 2026:
| Service week (Sat to Fri) | Group D's rotating day | Days off that week |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 3 to Jan 9 | Saturday | Sat Jan 3, Sun Jan 4 |
| Jan 10 to Jan 16 | Monday | Sun Jan 11, Mon Jan 12 |
| Jan 17 to Jan 23 | Tuesday | Sun Jan 18, Tue Jan 20 |
| Jan 24 to Jan 30 | Wednesday | Sun Jan 25, Wed Jan 28 |
| Jan 31 to Feb 6 | Thursday | Sun Feb 1, Thu Feb 5 |
| Feb 7 to Feb 13 | Friday | Sun Feb 8, Fri Feb 13 |
| Feb 14 to Feb 20 | Saturday (the cycle starts again) | Sat Feb 14, Sun Feb 15 |
Look at February 13, 14, and 15: Friday is the last rotating day of one service week, Saturday is the first day of the next, and Sunday is off anyway. That is the long weekend. Group D also had Friday, January 2 off, the end of its previous cycle, so it started 2026 with a Friday-to-Sunday weekend too. The week after a long weekend, the group has Sunday and Monday together, a second two-day break in a row.
Why calendars differ between stations
- Local agreements. The order of colors or letters, and sometimes the direction of the rotation, is set at the local level. A calendar from another city may not match yours, even though the six-week step is the same.
- Holidays and leave. Holidays, annual leave, and swapped days have their own rules and do not move the rotation. Your steward knows how holidays are handled at your station.
- Rural carriers work under a different agreement with their own relief day rules. This guide describes the city carrier rotation.
- Clerks and other crafts may have fixed days off or their own rotation. Check your bid or posted schedule.
Common mistakes
- Counting weeks from Sunday. A Sunday-to-Saturday week puts the Saturday rotating day one week late, because on the postal calendar it belongs to the week that starts that Saturday.
- Missing the long weekend. People who count "one day later each week" on a wall calendar often expect Saturday the week after Friday, not the day after.
- Matching by color instead of by day. "I'm blue" means nothing on another branch's calendar. Match a date you know you had off.
- Using last year's calendar. The cycle carries on from one year into the next, but 52 weeks is not a multiple of six, so a group's 2025 dates do not repeat on the same dates in 2026.
- Forgetting holidays. The rotation keeps going; your actual days off around a holiday may not.
Questions about the rotating day off
What is a rotating day off at USPS?
It is the second weekly day off for a carrier on a rotating schedule. Sunday is off every week, and the second day moves one day later each week through Saturday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, so it comes back to the same weekday every six weeks. Carriers on a fixed schedule have the same day off every week instead.
How long is the USPS rotating day off cycle?
Six weeks. There are six possible rotating days, Monday through Saturday, and the day moves one step each service week, so every group is back on its starting day after six weeks. In 2026 that means each group has eight or nine Saturdays off.
Why do I get a three-day weekend every six weeks?
Because the service week starts on Saturday. The week your rotating day is Friday is followed the very next day by a week where it is Saturday, and Sunday is off anyway, so you get Friday, Saturday, and Sunday together. The chart above lists every group's Saturdays off in 2026.
What happens when a holiday falls on my rotating day off?
Under Article 11, Section 4 of the national agreement, when a holiday falls on your scheduled day off, your scheduled workday before the holiday is usually designated as your holiday. Local practice around holidays varies, so confirm with your steward or supervisor before you make plans.
Do rural carriers have rotating days off?
Rural carriers work under a different agreement and have relief days rather than the city carrier rotation described here. Some rural routes have a rotating relief day, but the rules and the calendar are separate, so use your own office's schedule.
Which color or letter am I?
It comes with your assignment, and your supervisor or the posted schedule has it. Colors and letters differ between branches, so the safest way to use any printed calendar, including the chart on this page, is to find a date you know you had off and read the group from that.
Keeping it on your phone
A single repeating event cannot follow a moving day off, but six can: in the iPhone Calendar app, make an all-day event for each of the six rotating days in one cycle and repeat each Weekly, every 6 weeks. The iPhone Calendar guide has the steps.
HitchDays has a weekly schedule type: in Edit my schedule choose Same days off each week, tick Sunday, turn on One weekday off that rotates, and pick this week's rotating day. It then moves the day one weekday later each week, Monday through Saturday, and shows the next day off on the first screen as "Your next day off is in 2 days". One honest limit: HitchDays counts weeks from Sunday, so five of the six rotating days in each cycle match the chart above and the Saturday lands one week later than on a postal calendar. Until that changes, check your Saturdays against this chart or your station calendar. HitchDays also does not know holidays or leave.